A full plate
Georgians get their
fill at meat-and-threes
statewide
BY H.M. CAULEY
DAN COSTIN
H
At Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room in Savannah, diners pass bowls of food family-style.
The aromas will pull you in and banish those hunger pangs.
At Goldens on the Square in
downtown Newnan, the allure of
Southern-style comfort food is so
strong that many customers come
in every day for fried chicken, green
beans and strawberry shortcake.
Owner Maridee Wise took over the
operation in 1996 and has maintained
the menu created by the original
owners, Randall and Diane Golden,
that keeps locals coming back.
"People love our fried okra, fried
green tomatoes and the one thing
Goldens would not be Goldens without: our homemade banana pudding," Wise says.
JENNIFER J. HEWETT
ave a hankerin' for home cookin'?
Despite the popularity of gourmet-chef-driven TV shows and
contests that have cooks create dishes from exotic ingredients, plenty of
hungry folks find the most satisfying
platter is one laden with a meat and
three sides like Mama used to make.
What goes better with fried chicken,
potpie, country fried steak or meatloaf than summer squash casserole,
black-eyed peas and creamed corn?
Diners will find an array of restaurants statewide that specialize
in those long-loved comfort foods.
Some are tucked into the ends of
shopping centers or gas stations; others take up downtown storefronts
and historic homes. No matter where
they're located, one thing is for sure:
It's not just fried foods that
are favorites. Locals love the salad
bar, laden with from-scratch carrot,
potato and cucumber salads; the
oven-baked and smothered pork tenderloin and chicken; and the prime
rib served every Friday. All the veggies on the extensive side menu
are prepared without meat and are
steamed to lock in flavor.
Not only is Goldens' food a draw
but also the 100-year-old building it
occupies has caught the eye of local
filmmakers, who recently rented out
the entire space for a movie shoot.
"And when they're not on set, a
lot of people from the movie business eat with us," Wise says.
Visitors to the Little White House
in Warm Springs often discover
Southern-inspired dishes at Bulloch
House Restaurant, named for the old
house it occupied until a fire burned
it down two years ago. The restaurant
now fills a former mercantile store
built in the 1870s.
"We're definitely a destination
location," says manager Greg Bran-
JENNIFER J. HEWETT
Visitors can spot Minnie's Uptown Restaurant in Columbus by the colorful artwork on
the windows. It's a popular place among
locals. In recommending the restaurant for
this story, Rachel Sapp of Columbus wrote,
"Minnie's Uptown in Columbus is always
hopping and always delicious!"
32
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org
GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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